Leading wholesale distributor Menzies Distribution has placed additional orders for bespoke strapping equipment from Mosca, which has been designed specifically to bundle magazines picked and stacked using the specialist HS News System.
With close to half of the UK and Irish market, Menzies is a leading provider of added value distribution and marketing services to the newspaper and magazine supply chain. The company delivers around 8 million newspaper and magazine product copies daily to 25,000 retail outlets.
Given the importance of a reliable logistics process to assure on-time delivery under very tight deadlines, Menzies began a significant investment in automated packing and bundling magazines around 3 years ago, after successful pilots. "End-of-line strapping is absolutely essential to the smooth running of the entire production line," explains David Morton, Strategic Director at Menzies Distribution. "As we work multi-shift to tight deadlines, we cannot afford bottlenecks. All products must be quickly and efficiently prepared for delivery to customers throughout day and night."
The issue is particularly critical for compatibility with the HS News System, the industry's most advanced solution for magazine pick-and-place. Magazines of varying sizes, including some with cover mounted gifts attached, are picked into 'carrier baskets' which travel along the broadside of the machine. These are then automatically positioned and contents 'swept' into position and the stack stabilised in readiness for strapping.
Before purchasing strapping equipment, Menzies looked at installations across Europe, where Mosca's reputation as a strapping specialist became apparent. A crucial consideration was that Mosca has extensive experience of integrating its machines with the HS News System.
In order to enhance stack stability once the baskets are opened, Mosca devised a purpose-built close-coupled machine that quickly adds a stabilising longitudinal strap before the bundle is conveyed to a standard machine.
There can be 1 or 2 output lines on each HS packing system. A combination of 2 Mosca in-line automated strappers is used in conjunction with each HS output line: the bespoke Mosca RO-TR-4-KL and the standard RO-TR-I-5, both of which are capable of meeting the high speeds required by Menzies. This combination can also be used to strap tote boxes, providing Menzies with further flexibility. Following the most recent installations, a total of 17 output lines (34 strapping machines) are installed at Menzies' locations in Great Britain, with a further 5 output lines (8 strapping machines) used by Menzies JV in Northern Ireland and Eire.
"Given that Mosca has devised a solution that is fit-for-purpose, fast and reliable, we are happy to continue using their services for the critical process of magazine bundling," confirms David Morton.
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